Carnoustie Golf Links

Links Parade,

Carnoustie, Angus DD7 7JE

  • Office

    +44 (0)1241 802 270
  • Pro shop

    +44 (0)1241 802 270
  • Fax

    +44 (0)1241 802 271
  • Golf pro

    Keir McNicoll (PGA Head Professional).

About the course

  • The Course:

    18 holes. Seaside links. Gently undulating terrain - easy to walk.

  • Surroundings:

    Coastal duneland.

  • Designer:

    Original 18-hole course laid out by Old Tom Morris (1867). Significant changes made by James Braid (1926), which brought the course up to Open Championship standard.

Back
tees
Club
tees
Front
tees
Yards
6941
6692
6127
Par
72
72
74
SSS or slope
75
74
76

At the same location:

The three 18-hole courses at Carnoustie Links are: Championship course (par-72, 6941 yds from the back tees); Burnside course (par-68, 6028 yds); Buddon course (par-68, 5921 yds). They are complemented by the six-hole Junior course (opened in 2014).

Location

Latitude:

56.497178

Longitude:

-2.716945

How to get there:

12 miles E of Dundee

From the east side of Dundee, follow the A92 direction Abroath. After approx 7.5 miles, take exit Carnoustie / Barry Mill and follow direction Carnoustie. After approx 1.1 miles, at roundabout, turn left direction Town Centre. After o.8 miles, immediately after primary school, turn right into Links Avenue. After o.2 miles Carnoustie Hotel and golf course is in front of you.

Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course)

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.

Est. 1842

Carnoustie Golf Links' Championship course - once played never forgotten! This is a true championship links of the highest standard and a legendary layout that sits easily with the world's best. Although never quite getting you alongside the seashore, the splendour of Carnoustie is to be found in its collection of world-class golf holes, each one laying down a wonderful and often daunting test for your golfing skills.

Whatever the weather and wind direction, Carnoustie always seems to play "long," demanding your best quality shot-making to stay in-bounds and out of the burns, bunkers and gorse bushes (whins) that line many holes. The par-5 6th (Hogan's Alley) demands both length and great accuracy. At the par-5 14th your approach to a blind green will need to clear two enormous bunkers, the infamous "Spectacles."

If Jockie's Burn doesn't catch you out at the short par-4 3rd, then its big brother, the meandering Barry Burn has to be reckoned with as it snakes through the par-4 10th (South America) and then loops around the celebrated closing trio of holes. This notoriously intimidating burn doesn't discriminate between aspiring amateurs or Open Championship contenders (including Frenchman who nearly have the Claret Jug in the bag!). The Burn needs to be crossed twice at the long par-4 17th and, from the back tees, three times as you negotiate the perilous par-4 18th. Leading you into this closing duo, the long par-3 16th is no picnic either, often unreachable if played into a stiff nor' easterly.

Although it may not top the list of Scotland's most scenic courses (at least in terms of sea or ocean views), Carnoustie is feared and revered like no other.

Stay&Play at Carnoustie: onsite hotel accommodation available, see Where2Stay section below.

List of courses: Home of Golf

Visitors

Who can play and when?

Visitors welcome on weekdays and weekends.

Must book in advance (can be done via Carnoustie's website). Minimum age for players: 14 years. Maximum handicap: men 28; women 36. Proof of handicap required.

Green fees

Visitor fee, 18-holes in high season (May thru' mid-Oct) (all days): Championship course £282; Burnside course £75; Buddon course £75.

Contact club for full details, discounts, day tickets, combination tickets, etc. [Last updated: 2023].

Other information

Players generally walk this course. Caddies available.

Practice facilities

Good

Did you know?

Carnoustie's Championship course has hosted many top-level tournaments, including the British Amateur, British Ladies Amateur, Scottish Open, British Boys Championship and on several occasions, the Open Championship itself. For more details see: Top Golf Tournaments at Carnoustie Golf Club.

Most famously in the 1999 Open, Jean van de Velde could have won the Claret Jug with no worse than a double-bogey six at the par-4 final hole. Compounding mistake upon mistake, the Frenchman hit a wayward driver, then clattered into a spectator grandstand going for the green in two. His third was hacked into the Barry Burn from deep rough. After a bare foot paddle in the Burn, he reluctantly took a penalty drop (four), hit the ball into a greenside bunker (five) and finished with a sand save from the bunker (six & seven). He subsequently lost out to Scotland's Paul Lawrie in a three-way playoff that also included Justin Leonard (USA). It should be said that Van de Velde heroically took the defeat on the chin, and cheerily moved on.

Published ranking

Championship course:
Scotland's 7th best course (Golf World, 2022).
Britain & Ireland's 17th best course (Golf World, 2022).
World's 40th best course (GOLF Magazine, 2023/24) and 28th best public access course (Golf World, 2023).

Where2Stay

  • Carnoustie Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa4-star

    The Links, Carnoustie, Angus DD7 7JE

    +44 (0)1241 411 999

    Visit website

    Located just a short putt beyond the 18th green of Carnoustie's Championship course, and close to the unspoilt beaches lining the North Sea. Many rooms have wonderful views onto the Carnoustie golf courses.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      Carnoustie (Championship, Burnside and Buddon courses)

    • Golf within 5 miles:

      Panmure; Monifieth

    • Golf within 20 miles:

      Downfield; Letham Grange; Scotscraig

  • Panmure Hotel3-star

    Tay Street, Monifieth, Angus DD5 4AX

    +44 (0)1382 532 911

    Visit website
    • Golf at this hotel:

      No

    • Golf within 5 miles:

      Monifieth; Panmure; Carnoustie (Championship, Burnside & Buddon courses).

    • Golf within 20 miles:

      Scotscraig, Downfield, Letham Grange

Find a course

Or

Tournaments

Ryder Cup: Rome plays host to the first ever Ryder Cup to be staged in Italy, with the USA defending golf’s greatest team trophy at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club (Sept 29-Oct 1).

Solheim Cup: also in September, also in southern Europe, the 18th Solheim Cup will be contested at Finca Cortesin on the Costa del Sol, with Europe defending after their surprise win in Toledo, Inverness Club (Ohio) in 2021 (Sept 22-24). 

Who's Who

Céline Boutier: with many successes as both an amateur and professional golfer, Boutier added a major championship title to her impressive résumé at this year’s Evian Championship.

Alex Cejka: buffeted by rain and high winds, especially on the high-scoring final day, Čejka prevailed over Pádraig Harrington in a playoff at Royal Porthcawl, to scoop the Senior Open Championship title.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

Popular videos

You can subscribe to the Where2Golf channel on YT if you like to see more video content. You'll find a "Subscribe" button on any of our YouTube videos. Or if you want a quick and direct access subscribe here. Once done, any new published videos will show up in your Subscriptions feed.

Hamburger GC - Falkenstein, Germany

WINSTONgolf - Links course

Littlestone Golf Club (Kent, UK)